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The Banaue Rice Terraces are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the Batad indigenous people. It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1500 meters (5000 feet) above sea level and cover 10,360 square kilometers (about 4000 square miles) of mountainside. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces.
The Banaue terraces are part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, ancient sprawling man-made structures from 2,000 to 6,000 years old. They are found in the provinces of Apayao, Benguet, Mountain Province and Ifugao, and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a commonly visited place.
Locals to this day still tend to the rice and vegetables on the terraces, although more and more younger Ifugaos do not find farming appealing, often opting for the more lucrative hospitality industry generated by the Rice Terraces. The result is the gradual erosion of the characteristic "steps", which need constant reconstruction and care.
Coordinates: 16°56′05″N, 121°08′05″E
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banaue_Rice_Terraces"
The province of Ilocos Sur is where the Ilocos Region’s myriad of cultures and histories converge to become a living museum of a spirited past. A national shrine, a national landmark, a national museum, heritage museums, ancestral houses, period houses, cobble-stoned streets – they all share space in the timeless land of Ilocos Sur.
Found in the province is the historic town of Vigan, which was inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List in November 1999. Established in the 16th century, Vigan is the best preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia. Its architecture reflects the coming together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines and from China with those from Europe to create a unique culture and townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia. Its Kamestizoan District is replete with ancestral houses with ancient tiled roofs, massive hardwood floorings, ballustrades and azoteas in varying Spanish-Mexican-Chinese architectural styles.
Centuries-old Sta. Maria Church, declared a National Landmark, was used as a fortress during the Philippine Revolution of 1896. Tirad Pass, declared a National Shrine, had been the last stand of the Filipino Revolutionary Forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo during the same period. Bessang Pass served as the backdoor to General Yamashita’s last ditch defense during the last stage of World War II.Read more
Pagudpud is a sprawling and scenic town on the northwest tip of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. The hills and mountains are verdant, the valleys fertile. Creeks, streams and waterfalls splash the landscape and spill into the South China Sea. All around, the ocean and sky are awash in varying hues of blue.
Know more at Pagudpud.net
This World of Palawan! that I had found, it's too Good to be True, Now I dream of building my own Palawan Resort, and Am not going to lose you my Palawan, I will be forever be with you.. for better or for worst... I LOVE YOU PALAWAN till Death do us apart....
Arguably the best resort in the world, is located at the northwestern tip of Panay across PALAWAN Islands, in the West Visayas Region, off the Sibuyan Sea. Boracay has managed to pack its thousand-hectare area with all the elements of a tropical paradise -- crystal blue waters, powder white sand, liberal doses of tropical palms and flowering plants, and a healthy marine life underneath the seas.
Visit the Official website of Boracay
Ok guys, welcome to my first post!Lets start on the history of the Philippines... Take your time to read :)The history of the Philippines begins with the arrival of the first humans in the Philippines by land bridges at least 30,000 years ago. The first recorded visit from the West is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan on Homonhon Island, southeast of Samar on March 16, 1521. Permanent settlements in the island of Cebu were established with the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565, and more settlements continued northward with the colonizers reaching the bay of Manila on the island of Luzon. In Manila they established a new town and thus began an era of Spanish colonization that lasted for more than three centuries.
The Philippine Revolution against Spain began in April of 1896, culminating two years later with a proclamation of independence and the establishment of the First Philippine Republic. However, the Treaty of Paris, at the end of the Spanish-American War, transferred control of the Philippines to the United States. U.S. colonial rule of the Philippines began in December 1899, with very limited local rule permitted beginning in 1905. Partial autonomy (commonwealth status) was granted in 1935, preparatory to a planned full independence from the United States in 1945. But what was envisioned as a 10-year transition period from a commonwealth to a fully sovereign state was interrupted by the Japanese occupation of the islands during World War II. Full independence was only granted to the Philippines in July 1946.
With a promising economy in the 1950s and 1960s, the Philippines in the late 1960s and early 1970s saw a rise of student activism and civil unrest against the corrupt dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos who declared martial law in 1972. Because of close ties between United States and President Marcos, the U.S. government continued to support Marcos even though his administration was well-known for massive corruption and extensive human rights abuse. The peaceful and bloodless 1986 EDSA Revolution, however, brought about the ousting of Marcos (who fled to Hawaii on board a U.S. military helicopter, where he was exiled until his death) and a return to democracy for the country. The period since then, however, has been marked by political instability and hampered economic productivity.
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